Eternal Nightmare
by ThatOneTrekkie
Summary: Liyrra Vale is in great danger. The Prince of Darkness, after hunting her for the majority of her life, is finally able to claim his prize, her bleeding heart. Will Liyrra be able to fight him off, or succumb to his devilish charm? A short DraculaxOC fanfic based off of Stoker's Dracula and a dream I once had.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Although one of my characters is based off of Stoker's Dracula, I do NOT own Dracula. I do own the likeness of my other OC's, but Dracula is not mine.**

**I would also really appreciate a review of any kind, as this is my first post on FanFiction. Any feedback at all is very much appreciated! :D**

©August 2012

I had a dream last night, but not just any dream where the most random things happen and you end up in different places and situations for no apparent reason. It was a dream that started off that way, yes, but eventually, it felt so incredibly real. I woke up later that night, sweat covering my face, my heart racing, I thought I was still dreaming and expected him to be there with me...

I was in my neighborhood, only everything was different, especially my house. In fact it wasn't even there. Instead, there was this gigantic White Castle that took up most of the plots where my neighbors' houses should be, but other than that, everything seemed- normal. Everyone was happy and waving at me but I had no idea why. _Their faces_, I thought, _They're almost... artificial._ I didn't know what to make of anything until he showed up. Despite it being a spectacularly bright and sunny day, the Count stood next to me, flashing a dangerously brilliant smile that made my insides do a million burning backflips.

I instinctively flinched away from him, I always hated that smile. He chuckled under his breath. "Why do you move away from me, sweet child?", he asked, his low husky voice ringing in my ears. His Transylvanian accent sickened me. _Disgusting... _"Get the hell away from me, Count.", I sneered, backing away from him slowly. _If I move too fast he'll chase me..._ He laughed that wonderful, horrible, seductive laugh that made my skin crawl. _I hate him..._ He took a step toward me, "Now now... There's no need to be nasty." He took another step and opened his arms like he expected a hug and said so mockingly, "Come to me, my dear sweet Liyrra. Come and embrace your fate." I gasped, practically stumbling backwards away from him. My heart began to thump like a rabbit hopped up on caffeine. _What the hell is he talking about?!..._ I wanted to desperately run away from here, this place, but most of all, him. My muscles were tingling in anticipation. He chuckled again, "Running would be a very foolish decision, my dear." My eyes widened in alarm. _How did he know?!..._ I froze as he began to walk towards me, "Besides, you have nowhere to run to; your home, your friends, even this- ," He raised his arms above his head to gesture towards his surroundings, a look of disgust on his face,"-ugh-_lovely_ neighborhood all belong to me." He finished with a cocky smile, never ending his advancement towards me. I was frozen with fear, my heart about to pound out of my chest. _What? What do I do now?! .._

His lips curled into a wicked smile as the sky began to turn a purplish- gray. His maniacal laughter was overshadowed by rolls of thunder and lightning cast the shadow of his dark silhouette over me. I felt so small; like a bug. He was getting closer, but I couldn't budge; I was too afraid. It was only when I saw him bare his horrible fangs did I feel the urge to move. _Run..._ I bolted away from him as fast as my legs would allow me. My muscles screaming at me to move faster and faster, sprinting away like how a frightened rabbit runs away from a monstrous wolf. _I need to get away, I need to get help!.._ I ran toward the nearest house and furiously banged on the door. "Please!", I yelled, "You have to help me! Is anyone there?!" No one was there. I continued this for what seemed like forever, banging on door after door, finding no help. I was absolutely terrified. I had no idea what to do, where to turn. _Just empty houses._.. Tears started clouding my vision. "No", I said to myself, shaking, "I won't cry in front of him." I wiped them away with my shirt sleeve, my other hand brushing straying strands of my raven black hair from my hazel eyes. _Wait, Where is he?.. _The thought that he might be right behind me chilled me to the core.


	2. Chapter 2

_I can't let him get me..._I started my crazed sprint again away from the neighborhood, not daring to look back. That was a mistake, because that's when they showed up, the vampires.

I saw them slinking out of the shadows; they were hideous. They looked like mutated bats with their huge, gnarly, pointed ears crudely connected to their relatively hairless, deformed heads. Their eyes were sunken and glowing red, their teeth were jagged and rotten, and their noses were nothing but wrinkled disgusting caverns that took up half of their face. Their hands were grabbing at me with long yellowing claws and their skin was a sickly gray with a dry, scaly looked like something out of Nosferatu. I was as terrified as I was disgusted. They seemed to rely solely on smell. I think they were blind, because they walked with their crippled noses up and constantly sniffed the air. They weren't very fast moving, but they could track pretty well. _How the hell am I being so observant in this crazy shit?!_ I concluded that fear was an excellent benefactor for research and wanted to break down crying right there and then. It seemed that no matter where I hid, no matter where I ran or how hard I fought, they were always there! I couldn't get away! I was beginning to lose my sanity. As I continued to run for what seemed like an eternity in this God-forsaken hell hole, I couldn't help but think of that horrible monster's face. His devilishly smug smile ever-increasingly pressing on my last nerve. _Damn him! Oh God why did I have to be the only person here?! What the hell do these things want?! What does HE want with me anyway?! Damn him! Damn him! DAMN HIM!_ "ENOUGH!", I screamed at the vile creatures. They seemed to cringe at my tone, like they were suddenly the ones who were in danger of me. _What the hell?..._ "You fucks want me?! Come and get me!" I was so overcome with absolute fury that I didn't even consider the possibility that my stupidity might cost me my life. I grabbed the nearest debris I could find, a rather large piece of splintered wood, and charged into the horde; beginning my enraged, and maybe final, assault on the hideous creatures.

Despite my being out of breath, I was able to muster up enough force to knock the monsters aside as I ran through their enormous army. The jagged wood was cutting into my raw palms, making my hands bleed. I didn't care though, I needed the pain to keep me motivated. A thousand and one things were buzzing through my mind. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins and my heart felt like it was beating at a frantic pace of a million beats per second. I didn't even notice that the fiendishly clever creatures were herding me back into the middle of my damned neighborhood; right back where I started, in front of the White Castle. I couldn't believe that the eternity, or what seemed like it anyway, I spent trying to escape this monster, was in vain. The passionate hatred that boiled inside me was reluctantly replaced with a sickening, overwhelming feeling of dread. _I can't get away from him..._ I turned away from the White Castle to discover the horde staring blankly at me, as if wondering whether or not they should kill me now. An additional spark of anger was added to the already blazing inferno of my rage, causing me to bow my head as I clenched my hands into fists. The vile concoction of this blaze mixed with my newly found sense of dread made me tremble. I raised my head and glared at the disgusting creatures. They cringed as if the fire that I felt within me radiated from my skin and licked at them. They backed away from me at first, cringing at the tongues of my unstable aura of emotions, but then after an unexpected gain in courage, hesitantly began creeping towards me. That's when I snapped.

I didn't know it was possible to become this angry, this enraged. _Yet here I am_, I thought, choking on the flames of my own fury. _How pathetic..._ I didn't realize I was clutching the wood so strongly, until it shattered in my hands. Thousands of small splintered pieces rained around my feet, covering them in the tears of my blood, staining my shoes.


	3. Chapter 3

I wanted to run. I wanted to scream. I wanted to get as far away from this place as possible and bang my head into the nearest rock as hard and as fast as I could, but that was the thing, I wanted to do all these things..._So why don't I?.._ As I was about ready to throw myself to the ground and admit defeat, I felt a cold chill slowly crawl it's way up my spine. The feeling was sickening. I turned around slowly, never lifting up my head. The sight before me made my eyes start to water again, a sudden feeling of despair washed over me like a cold shower in the winter. The Count's expensive, perfectly clean, black, English loafers were only two inches away from my dirty, blood stained, worn-out purple Converse. As if being able to sense my sadness, I heard the Count chuckle under his breath, a hint of arrogance rang in my ears. I quickly wiped the almost-tears from my face and attempted to muster up enough courage to give him my best hateful glare. I knew by the smug expression on his hideously pale face that I was unsuccessful. Chuckling some more, he said "Are you quite done with your little escapade, dear child?" I stared at him in complete disbelief. _An escapade?..._ He took this time to take my right hand and trace the visible veins of my palm and forearm. I shivered at his icy touch; he chuckled again. _My entire life threatening ordeal was nothing more, than an escapade?..._ He broke the ramblings of my thoughts, "It was quite amusing actually, to see such anger in you... to watch my pathetic creatures shrink away from you in fear... you're quite the hot-blooded type aren't you, dear?" He looked away from my arm and made eye contact with me. A hungry tint defined his eyes as he shifted his lips into a wickedly seductive grin. I felt my heart rate quicken. _What?..._ For a moment I forgot he was speaking to me, I was too preoccupied with this strange feeling his gaze gave me. _What's going on?... _I couldn't breathe until I realized what was happening, he was toying with me. I beat back the fear I felt before and reignited the flames of my smothered anger as I ripped my arm away from the monster and surprised him with the strongest slap I could muster. _Big mistake..._ The bat creatures hissed behind me in shock. I managed to slap him hard enough to turn his head away from me, which is exactly what I needed to hide my now fractured hand behind me. When he turned back around I could see the red mark I made extremely well. His ghostly complexion did nothing to hide it. I couldn't help but smile at my achievement, which earned me my next brutal assault. With anger radiating from every pore of his body, he drew his arm towards him, his hand fixed as if he were going to slap me and, with blurring speed, flung me back with so much force that I landed in the middle of his horde. I found that breathing became extremely painful as I gasped for air, clutching my side, where I knew I had broken more than a few ribs during the fall. I tried to turn my head toward the Count, but the immense pain in my neck slammed my head back down. _Fuck..._ I knew I was going to die when the horde split down the middle, like a demonic version of the parting of the Red Sea, and the Count began to stride towards me. He was extremely angry. As the fuzzy black cloud of unconsciousness began to dull my senses, I heard him whisper in my ear, "Next time, you will die." I wasn't able to furrow my brow in confusion like I wanted to. _Next time?... _Then all went black...

I woke up in what I assumed was a small bedroom. There were no windows or even doors, and the bed was actually pretty big for this room. There was barely any space to walk around if you were off of it. Next to me was a small metal table with a bowl of water and some rags and fresh bandages. The metal framed bed I was lying on was dressed simply, plain white cotton sheets. Judging by the starchy feel of them, I figured I was in a hospital room. _One with absolutely no doors or windows..._ So how did I even get in here? When I tried to sit up my side ached like I had been hit by a truck. I felt like a paraplegic for a moment, but when the immense pain had subsided a little, I reached for my starchy pillow and managed to scrunch it up enough to get myself upright. I lifted up my shirt to inspect the damage and was extremely surprised to see that I had been bandaged up. _How the hell... _


	4. Chapter 4

The memory of my last encounter with the Count came back to me like a horrible nightmare come alive and I finally let myself break down into a mess of tears and snot. _My family... my friends... my brother... gone..._ It's all his fault... I hated him. I loathed him. I absolutely, positively despised that monster with all my heart and soul! The familiar anger I felt so many times before, boiled over in my veins. I hadn't realized I was balling the sheets in my hands until I felt the familiar wetness of my blood soaking through them and coating my palms in a vibrant red. I quickly unclenched them and began to examine the damage done to my hands from my earlier "escapade". I cursed myself for clutching the wood so tight, because my hands began to sting. Upon closer inspection I realized that they had been bandaged too tightly for me to notice until now. _Who the hell did this?... More importantly: why?... Didn't he want me to suffer? Didn't he want me dead? This is weird..._ I furrowed my brow in confusion and blew a strand of hair from my pale face. I took this time to really look around for an answer to my multitude of questions. Of course this unwanted movement cause my neck to cramp up and the side of my face to ache. I winced and attempted to calm the burning ache with a light touch of my hand and then winced again. _Well that was stupid..._ Despite the pain, I managed to turn my head with moderate ease. The walls were stone but someone had painted them an off-white, I guess to match the sheets. The floor was met by these walls with crown molding, the color matching the walls. It was left unpainted so you could see the gray polished floor. It was smooth and had a creamy look, like if someone had just put a fresh layer of cement on it. I was curious so I kicked of the sheets to rub my shoe against it only to realize that my shoes and socks were gone. I was utterly speechless. I did my best to stand up, with a whole lot of discomfort, and saw that my shirt was actually a white cotton hospital gown. It was hiked up, probably during my rest, and went just past my knees. Someone had changed my clothes. _Someone had seen me naked..._ "OH MY GOD THAT'S SO FUCKING CREEPY!" I shouted at the top of my lungs and quickly covered my mouth and ducked behind the left side of the bed, scared that maybe someone might hear me and come check on me. The thought filled me with fear and I quickly looked around for any way to get out of here. The walls were completely sealed off as far as I could tell. Just as I was about to get up and do a more thorough inspection, the floor at the right side of the bed began to creak and I quickly hobbled my way back into bed and pulled the sheets over me as fast as I could. I shut my eyes just as I saw the top of a black head of hair appear from below. _So that's how I get out of here..._ I pretended to be asleep and tried not to move around as best I could, but I was out of breath from searching for a way out. I could feel a cold hand press against my cheek and stroke its way towards my chin. I pretended to be rustling in my sleep and moaned slightly to deter the stranger from doing that again. It didn't work. I concluded the stranger was male from the size of the hand and felt as he grabbed my chin firmly and brought his face close to mine. What I heard next chilled me to my very core, "I know you're awake, Liyrra." _Fuck..._ My eyes shot open and I tore his hand away from me. I did my best to crawl away from him but hit my head on the metal bars of the bed. Ow. _No! Why did it have to be him?!_ Remembering my earlier attack on him I expected his reaction to be less than happy, but his expression was blank. Still having his head close to where mine once was, he slowly moved it away from me and stood upright, his eyes never leaving mine, holding them with a surprisingly powerful gaze. My stomach was churning again.


	5. Chapter 5

He just stood there, perfectly still, like a statue. I took the opportunity to tear my eyes away from his and examine him, mentally frisking him for anything potentially harmful. He was wearing a white button up silk blouse that had the top few buttons undone and was tucked into a pair of black slacks. The blouse made him seem even paler than he was. He was also wearing an unbuttoned black overcoat. It had straps at the shoulders and two at each of his cuffs. The tie was undone and was left dangling at his waist. The doubled buttons were big and round and the sides of the coat looked tailored to give him an appealing hourglass shape. My eyes drifted to his feet and I saw that he was wearing the same loafers that he was wearing when I slapped him. The memory made me examine his cheek for my mark but to my dismay I found that it was gone. Instead the perfect white stone that was his cheek was in its place. I unconsciously got lost in thought and began to examine his face. His eyes were always fascinating to me. The left was a glowing scarlet red, always burning with some unknown passion. It was adorned with three long angry red scars, I assumed they were claw marks. The highest one reached to the middle of his forehead and reached down to just past his perfectly sculpted cheekbone. Part of me wanted to reach out and touch it, possibly soothing it and healing it. The other eye was a bright sky blue. Perfectly normal looking, if it weren't for the slightly slit pupils. His nose was long, but subtle. A perfect button nose on the face of a sculpted masterpiece. His full lips were the only thing besides his eyes that had any color. They were a vibrant ruby red and the smallest hint of two ivory points overlapped his bottom lip. His mouth was framed by a black goatee, the bottom venturing beyond his perfectly chiseled chin, just at the base of his jaw. My eyes drifted back to his lips as I wondered if anyone had ever tried to kiss him...

"Your bandages need changing." His voice awakened me from my daydreaming and my cheeks burned with embarrassment as blood rushed to them, making them a bright red. _What the hell, brain?!..._ " W-what?.." I replied sheepishly, moving my head away from him and using my hair as a curtain to hide my inflamed cheeks. "Your bandages need changing. The ones I wrapped earlier are now covered in your blood." He stated in calmly, no witty remark, no hint of amusement. _What's he up to?.._ "Oh.", was all I could manage as he walked towards me and knelt down beside my bed. He then gently held my right hand as he unwrapped the stained bandages and carefully began to wipe away the dried blood from my palms. His hands were firm and had an oddly pleasant feeling to them. When shifting between wiping and drying, his thumb would slowly caress the back of my hand, making me shiver. As he began to wrap my hand in clean bandages, I remembered his earlier statement, "You were the one that wrapped me up before?" He never took his eyes off my hands as he carefully wound the bandage around and around, "Yes." My cheeks were red again and I couldn't help but become a little uncomfortable. He stopped his bandaging for a moment and looked up at me. The same blank expression on his face, "Is something wrong?" _How could he say that?!... Yes! Duh!_ It was hard trying to find the words, "Y-you s-saw me n-naked." I didn't phrase it as a question, but he replied anyway, "Yes, I did. Only for a moment." I didn't know how to respond to that and simply stared at him uncomfortably as he began to wrap my hand again. After a few awkward seconds he decided to add in very bluntly, "You have nothing to be ashamed of, Liyrra. Nothing about you was at all embarrassing." My cheeks flamed even brighter than they already were and I quickly looked somewhere else as he finished wrapping my right hand and took hold of my left. _What the hell?! Is that supposed to be a complement?!_ I uncomfortably crossed my legs and fiddled with a strand of my hair as he continued the process of washing and bandaging my left hand. "Um, t-thank you..." Was all I could muster. _Thank you?! Really, dumb ass?!_ Thankfully, he didn't respond and I was left with some silence to think. I went through all the things he had said to me before, all the snide comments and stupidly charming retorts, but not one of them made any connection to this man in front of me. _What is he up to?..._


	6. Chapter 6

None had any explanation to why he would be so blunt, so emotionless, or why he would be wrapping up my hand in a hospital room. _Is it because he's finally won?... What did he mean before...?_ "What did you mean before when you said 'Next time'?" I managed to ask. My sudden curiosity seemed to stun him as he held the sponge he had been using to wash me in his hand, frozen in place like a statue.

He took his time answering as he lifted his head and held my eyes with a burning gaze. I was speechless as he let the sponge drop and stood, making me stand with him. I never realized how much taller he was than me. I felt so tiny, so insignificant this close to him. It made me uncomfortable again. He took my hand, which had stopped bleeding, and began to examine it, reluctantly tearing his eyes from mine. Using both hands, he lifted it toward his face and positioned it so that my palm was facing his lips. He then shifted his gaze back to me. My breath caught in my throat, his eyes were hungry, dangerous. For once in my life, I was actually afraid of this man, this vampire. I was terrified. His gaze never leaving mine, he snaked his tongue out of his mouth and began lapping at my cuts like a dog. The sudden contact stung me, but the sensation quickly morphed into something not so disgusting. After a few seconds, it actually felt nice. As he greedily licked at my wounds he pulled me towards him even closer, his eyes never leaving mine. He started kissing my hand and went up my arm slowly, teasing me with the wait. I was as disgusted as I was infatuated with the sensation. When he reached my upper arm he looked away from me and closed his eyes, kissing his way up to my neck and stopping there. His lips brushed against the skin of my neck, making me shiver. My legs were shaking with the amount of electricity he caused to course through my body. I was torn between my hatred for him and my sudden fascination with what he was doing to me. It seemed like an eternity until he spoke, the vibrations of his deep voice and thick accent causing my head to spin, "You're never going to run away from me again, Liyrra." I was confused and angry at the same time, but before I could protest, he sunk his fangs into the base of my neck and had his fill. The pain I felt was almost unbearable, his arms were locked around me in a death grip and his hands were placed at both of my shoulders to keep me from moving. I couldn't fight if I wanted to, his grip was tighter than a vice and the pain I felt from his sudden attack was still fresh in my mind. I screamed as loud as I could but that didn't stop him. Nothing could now. My neck was burning as his tongue drilled into it and swam inside my vein. He made no attempt to disguise his moans of pleasure as he devoured my life energy. I kept myself focused on the pain to distract myself from his disgusting moans but the pain began to dissipate and soon was replaced with an entirely new sensation. My body was rocked with a wave of something foreign. I began to tingle as my arms went limp and my knees began to buckle. _Am I dying?.._ To my surprise, a moan escaped my lips and made way for a series of my own cries of delight. What this monster was doing to me actually made me feel good, I was enjoying this. _Gross?..._ The Count began to dip me and slowly knelt to the ground, placing the small of my back against his knee for support as he continued his attack. I closed my eyes and enjoyed what I could, my body completely limp and my head lost in a fog of pure bliss. It felt as if he was pumping me full of some sort of drug, my body utterly tingly. Every place he touched sent a bolt of sweet electricity coursing through me. _Pure magic..._ It was heavenly.


	7. Chapter 7

I opened my eyes to discover the Count had stopped drinking my blood, but the tingling sensation was still going on strong. I was confused. He was looking at me with such passion, such engrossment. I didn't think anything could snap him out of this trace like state, but I didn't want him to. I wanted him to stay here with me, to share this feeling with me. If I could have I would have touched his face and caressed his cheek, but I was unable to move anymore, so I settled with a faint blissful smile. He smiled back at me warmly and lifted his hand to his mouth. Before I knew what he was doing, he slashed a fang across his wrist and we watched fascinated as a stream of blood came flowing from the puncture and dripped onto the floor. I frowned, "What are you doing?" Is what I wanted to say, but instead little groans came out. He put a finger to my lips to silence me and slowly lifted my head so that he could bring the cut to my lips. I was confused even more so and looked toward him for guidance. The Count made a motion for me to drink, so I reluctantly did so. It was odd, to drink someone else's blood. It was warm and fresh, and surprisingly good smelling. Like a rich chocolate or cologne. I didn't really know what to make of it. It just smelled good. The taste, it was different. Almost like a warm creamy sundae that had been blended to perfection and added with just the right amount of salt and sugar. This felt almost as good as what he was doing earlier. The blood made me feel warm inside and I closed my eyes to fully take in the experience. I used all my senses. I could hear the Count's moans of pleasure as I drank from him, they were even louder than before. After listening to them for a few seconds, something strange happened. I could actually feel his moans. Almost like they were traveling through my fingertips into my very core. I could actually feel what I was doing to him, this new sensation I was bringing him. I loved it. Slowly, I began to feel my strength return to me, the tingling intensified and my senses became heightened, my heart was beating stronger, and my strength seemed to increase tenfold. I pulled the Count closer to me as I in turn drank from him and reveled in the fact that I made him feel like a swooning fan girl. I opened my eyes to find the Count watching me drink his blood. I decided to tease him by slowly dragging the tip of my tongue across the cut he had made and lap at it, he shut his eyes and moaned. I did the same but only because he tasted so good. Soon the tingling sensation within me began to die, and when it finally subsided, I reluctantly released his hand and found that the Count still had his eyes closed and had a faint smile on his face, his lips slightly parted. I giggled, quickly covering my mouth to silence myself, but it was too late. He had already opened his eyes.

I hid my giggle with a blank expression. His expression was questioning; I gave him no answer. We stared at each other for what had to be at least five minutes. I just laid there on his lap, my right hand resting on my stomach and my left positioned into a limp fist, resting on his knees. _This seemed so weird... _So unnatural. I just finished drinking his blood. I would never do that. Wait a minute... It felt like someone had just dumped another bucket of cold water on me. Immediately I pushed myself away from him and stood up against a wall. He did the same, "What-" I cut him off before he could finish, "No, this time I talk and you listen. You killed my family in cold blood, you murdered my friends, took over my neighborhood, destroyed my house, turned everybody into nasty bat things, crushed me, practically raped me and got me to drink your tainted blood. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK COUNT?!" _Finally! _I raised my hands in the air out of anger and was breathing very heavily. _Damn I'm pissed..._ I gave him the very best glare I could and waited for him to respond to my rant, but there was nothing. He just stared at me with an intensity that kind of freaked me out, like he was trying to read me. Finally he spoke after two minutes of uncomfortable silence, "Why is it that you address me so formally?" I was dumbfounded, "What?!" He asked again, "Why do call me a count?" I looked at him completely confused, "Because you are a count." "Yes, but why do you only address me as 'Count'? Why not address me by name?" _Is he bullshitting me?..._


	8. Chapter 8

I gave him a hard look, he looked genuinely curious as to why I didn't call him by his name, but that was beside the point right now! "That's got nothing to do with why you're fucking doing this! I swear it's like you like to mess with me! You do don't you?! Why?! Why can't you just leave me alone?! You've always done stuff like this! Why?! Why can't you just l-leave m-me al-alone..." I broke down crying. I slowly slid to my knees and buried my head into my hands, crying harder than I've ever cried before. I didn't even notice the Count walk towards me and grab my head until I felt him entwine his fingers into my hair and forcefully yank me to my feet. I was too busy balling my eyes out to really care about what he did anymore. Nothing he possibly could do to me now could hurt me any worse than this. He released his grip on my hair and took one step back and then slowly lifted my chin with his hand and made me look him the eye. They were like dual lasers, smoldering me to the core and melting me in place. _How can anyone show so much emotion?..._ He brought his face closer to mine and tilted his head so that he was dangerously close to my ear, "Say my name." It wasn't a request, it was a command in a whisper. The power in his voice was almost overwhelming, it could kill me if he really wanted it to. My thought process was painfully slow right now and the command he just issued didn't exactly feel real to me. It wouldn't register with me so I just stood there trying to compute what he wanted me to do. I could tell that he was becoming impatient because he would constantly switch legs when he shifted his weight. It seemed like days had gone by in a matter of painfully slow seconds. This was becoming dangerous. Just when I was about to answer him, he lifted a trembling hand slowly and with bone-crushing speed, pinned my neck to the wall behind me with such force that the tips of his fingers made dents in the wall. It felt like I was hit with a ton of steel blocks. My head had to have bounced off the wall at least three times, but it didn't hurt. I was still too zoned out to really understand what was going on. He tightened his hold into a death grip and forced me to look him in the eye again. His eyes were red and glowing, like someone had turned on a light inside his head. He was growling at me, his fangs fully barred and shinning like a pair of razor blades, he looked absolutely terrifying. "Say my name you vile child!" He hissed through his teeth as a vein began to pound at his temple. The look on his face combined with the death threat he had just given me, finally managed to snap me out of my trace. I looked him in eye, my expression blank, my face absolutely clear of emotion and whispered the monster's name, "Vladimir."

He stopped growling at me but he was still furious. His grip didn't loosen and I could feel my pulse straining against his hand. Never leaving his burning gaze I repeated myself, "Vladimir. Count Vladimir. Count Vladimir of Castle Bran of Transylvania. Born 1562 to Count and Countess Dràcülia of Budapest. Your father was ashamed of you for being a benevolent ruler instead of a tyrant. No siblings, no wife. You were murdered in 1582 by a hired assassin sent by your own father and was made immortal by the fallen angel, Lucifer. A deal with the devil to forever walk the earth a soulless, hollow monster to seek vengeance against those who had done you wrong." I finished it strongly, even though deep down I wanted to cry. _Why?... _He widened his eyes a little. His face softened and he slowly loosened his grip until I was no longer in danger of choking. He looked confused and angry at the same time. He brought his face closer until his nose was just an inch away from mine. He gave me a hard look and examined every part of my face like he was searching for something that was impossible to find. Hesitantly he opened his mouth, "H-how is it that you know all this?" He asked me softly, like he was afraid to get an answer. My expression didn't change, "When someone is after you for so many years, you tend to do a little background research to know exactly what you're dealing with." He nodded his head slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. I decided to ask him a question of my own, "Why did you pick me?", I asked calmly as I lowered my head and closed my eyes. I felt a cold finger trace the outline of my jaw and grasp my chin gently, positioning my face at the level of his. "Open your eyes, Liyrra." He commanded. I wanted to keep them closed, but the power in his voice was too great so I opened them and lowered my eyes to stare at his strong pale hand.


	9. Chapter 9

"Look at me, p-please." my head snapped up. _Did he just say please?!..._ His face was serious, he looked frightening again, but his eyes were a mixture of emotions, I couldn't read them. He furrowed his brow and looked away from me, he seemed annoyed. Suddenly his anger surfaced again and he tightened his grip just enough to make a point. He leaned in a bit closer, which seemed impossible because he was so close already and strained to get his next sentence out, "Y-you are the very bane of my existence. Al-ways running, always trying to get aw-way from me!" _Stop..._ His words were hurting me worse than his grip, but why? He let go of my neck then and roughly cupped my face to keep me in position, like he was afraid that I would disappear if he didn't. His lips were pressed together so tightly that it looked like it hurt. Part of me wanted to soothe him but part of me was so angry with him for what he did to me. I was torn. The mixture of pity and rage was becoming too much to handle and my eyes were stinging with fresh tears. My breathing became labored, my skin was crawling, and my blood was boiling. _I can't take this anymore!_ He began to snarl, "And you assume that I can?!" His response to my rambling thought was startling. I could feel his body seething with rage. "Look at me! Look at me and tell me what it is that you truly think of me!" His face was almost as red as his eyes, he was truly a monster now. I was afraid, but I was angry to. I had had enough of him. "I hate you! I think you're a fucking asshole and I want you to just keel over and die! I loathe you! I despise you! I wish with all my heart and soul that you would just be painfully sucked back to hell where you belong and boil in a pit of freaking lava!" I shouted at him. I actually felt a little better knowing that I had finally told him how I feel, even if I was going to die. I expected him to attack me again, but what he actually did shocked me. He threw his head back and laughed. The laugh was so unexpected and so boisterously loud, that if he didn't have me pinned here I would have jumped back. I was now fully convinced that this man was crazy. Completely insane. What the hell?! "Why are you laughing?!" I screamed, "I just insulted you!" He finished the last of his maniacal cackling and gave me a serious look again. "I laugh because you continue to lie to me." My jaw dropped as my baffled mind tried to make sense of what he was saying. I was stunned. _What?!.._I tried to look for some meaning in his eyes, but they were no longer showing any emotion. They were cold even with their fiery glow. He stared at me with such intensity that it felt like he was trying to read my thoughts. "My dear child, I have always been able to read your thoughts.", he said with a sinister smile, his ivory fangs glistening. My eyes widened in sheer terror. _No!_ I tried my best to get away from him, but I couldn't move. He shook me until I stopped squirming and forced me to look at him. "Now tell me!" he said with authority, "what do you truly think of me?!" I was crying now, but I couldn't deny it any longer. There was something in me that knew exactly what he was talking about. It was something so terribly frightening that I had pushed it far back into my mind. I never wanted it to come out, but now I know. _He's always known my secrets... He knows my true feelings..._ I swallowed my pride then, and reluctantly looked him in the eyes and said, "I'm hopelessly in love with you." I felt completely broken then. _That's it... He finally won..._ He didn't say anything for a while, so I was afraid. He looked at me questioningly, and leaned in close until he was inches from my face. His eyes held curiosity and- something much more strange and potent. I was afraid. "Wha-" before I could ask my question, he smashed his lips against mine and kissed me with all the love and hatred we felt for each other. The feeling was strange, it wasn't just desire like when we had tasted each other's blood. It was like he had reached into me and filled my heart with warmth and happiness. My stomach was twisting into knots again, but these knots were strangely pleasant. The rage that had once boiled over in my blood, subsided. My head was clouded with so many new sensations, this was bliss. My arms had found their way up his toned abs and chest and locked around his neck. I tried to pull him closer to me as I finally gave myself to this man, and kissed him back with all I had left.


	10. Chapter 10

When we finished our first kiss, he rested his forehead against mine and kissed my nose. "I know, darling, that you love me, but I am happy that you finally admitted it." He whispered back. I looked at him questioningly. He seemed genuinely happy, but I could hear the smugness in his voice. I smiled, "So you knew, huh?" He flashed me his mischievous grin that I was now starting to love. "Yes", he said, "I knew it from the start. Although you would never admit to yourself, I could feel it. It drove you absolutely insane." I blushed a little, it was true. I was in love with this man, this vampire. It was driving me insane, but how did he know if I couldn't even admit it to myself? I suppose since he was more than four hundred years old that he would definitely know how to read people a lot better than I could. He probably knew me better than I knew myself. I was stunned. All these years that I spent running from him, from my own feelings, he probably spent getting to know me. It was creepy, but oddly sweet at the same time. I didn't have to be awkward around him, because he already knew all my faults, all my ticks, and sill loved me. This made me smile like a big idiot. I hadn't realized how cheeky I looked until he started laughing. It wasn't the menacing laugh either, this was different. It was happy, genuinely joyous. It made me blush even brighter than I was already. He took notice and held me tightly in his arms and started petting the top of my head. It felt nice in a weird dog-pet kind of way. I rested my hands on his strong forearms. "Don't worry, love. You still haven't witnessed my faults yet." He assured me. I furrowed my brow, what faults? He was absolutely perfect! He's had almost 500 years of practice to perfect himself! I mean sure, he was "bad", OK he was the manifestation of pure unfiltered evil, but he was also charming, incredibly handsome, charismatic, and very extremely intelligent. _More importantly, he's mine..._ The sudden thought had me scowling at myself. I felt Vladimir's arms tighten a little around me as he smirked. I guess I made a noise, because he was a little confused and seemed somewhat concerned, "What is bothering you, love?" His new nickname for me had my stomach doing little flips, I had to cover my mouth to hide my giggles. "Oh it's nothing really, I was just thinking about our current situation." The way I phrased it had him a little worried. He lowered his head a little and rested it on my shoulders, "Yes, and? What is your take on this? On us?" I smiled, he looked cute when he was worried. "Oh it's nothing. It's just that, well you're kind of mine now and", I kissed his cheek and leaned into whisper," I don't share." I let myself giggle this time as he grinned a big toothy grin. I immediately regretted my sudden forwardness when he took the opportunity to pin me against the wall again and started to kiss my shoulder. Each kiss left me trembling and when he reached my neck he paused there again. I thought he was going to bite me and braced myself, but was surprised when he in turn kissed my neck and whispered, "Nor I, love." The way he said it left me shaking. What had I gotten myself into? Still pinned against the wall, I closed my eyes and concentrated on his kisses. They were heavenly. "I am yours as much you are mine. We had always belonged to solely each other, but now we can truly enjoy it."

The sound of something tapping at my window woke me up with a fright. I was afraid to walk toward the window, but did so anyway, throwing the sheets off me like a heavy burden. I opened it, but nothing was there. There were no trees or branches from bushes to cause the noise, and birds weren't awake at this hour. Feeling a little afraid, I quickly shut and locked the window, making sure that the latch couldn't be jiggled or broken. _I need to stop worrying about him so much..._ I sighed, I couldn't just stop worrying about him. He was out there, he wanted me. I wiped the sweat from my face and looked out the window, a shadow in the tree across the street sent shivers up my spine. I quickly closed the curtains and ran back to my bed. I jumped into it and frantically pulled the sheets over my head. I then sighed again and tossed and turned in my sheets, trying to recover the lost hours of sleep I wasted. _That couldn't have been him_, I told myself._ Could it?..._


	11. Chapter 11

With much haste, I jumped onto a nearby tree, leaving the previous one I had just occupied barren. _You fool! She almost caught you!_ I needed to be more careful around this area, her dwelling. Being this near her caused me much aggravation. _I can almost smell her blood..._ The very thought of what she might taste like had me reeling with desire. _I must have her!_ I sat on the branch nearest to her window and settled myself to read her thoughts; she was awake. _Excellent..._ I peered into her mind and caught glimpse of a dream she had recently had. I could feel a devilish smile play at the corners of my mouth. _She dreamed of me... And she enjoyed it... How quaint..._ It was marvelous. The perfect plan to execute and finally claim her for my own. I began to laugh out of pure joy. _Wonderful!_! "Soon, she will be mine", I proclaimed, "Oh yes, she will be mine!"

*enter deranged cackling*

****Thank you so much for reading my short story. Please feel free to review and rate! Your input is actually very much appreciated! :D (This was my first fanfic posting)**


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